CONTACT: Nancy Richards 917-873-6389 (Cell)

CONTACT: Nancy Richards 917-873-6389 (Cell)

CONTACT: Nancy Richards – 917-873-6389 (cell)/

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, PLEASE:

NORTH COAST REP’S ‘TRAVELS WITH MY AUNT’

PROMISES AN INVENTIVE, UNFORGETTABLE ADVENTURE

Written by GRAHAM GREENE

Adapted by Giles Havergal

Performances Beginning Wednesday, April 12, 2017

Running Through Sunday, May 7, 2017

Directed by David Ellenstein

Solana Beach, Calif. North Coast Repertory Theatre continues Season 35 with TRAVELS WITH MY AUNT, a 2015 New York Times Critic’s Pick that was hailed as “a triumph of theatrical style.” Giles Havergal adapted the Graham Greene novel about eccentric Aunt Augusta who swoops in and shakes up the life of her staid bourgeois nephew. The result is a life-changing, offbeat odyssey created by four astonishingly versatile actors who tackle more than 20 roles. Hang on to your umbrella and book passage now for this truly wondrous journey.

David Ellenstein directs James Saba,* David McBean,* Richard Baird,* and Benjamin Cole. The design team includes Marty Burnett (Scenic Design), Matthew Novotny (Lighting), Melanie Chen (Sound), Elisa Benzoni (Costumes), and Andrea Gutierrez (Props). Aaron Rumley* is the Stage Manager.

*The actor or stage manager appears through the courtesy of Actors’ Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States. For background information and photos, go to

Busy director David Ellenstein and his talented cast are available for interviews by phone, in person, and in- studio. For more information and to arrange interviews or press tickets, please contact Nancy Richards at , or 917-873-6389 cell.

TRAVELS WITH MY AUNT previews begin Wednesday, April 12. Opening Night on Saturday, April 15, at 8pm, includes a post-show reception. There will be a special talkback on Friday, April 21, with the cast and artistic director. It will play Wednesdays at 7pm, Thursdays through Saturdays at 8pm, Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2pm with Sundays at 7pm, through May 7, 2017. (See Schedule below.) North Coast Repertory Theatre is located at 987 Lomas Santa Fe Drive, Solana Beach, CA 92075. Tickets: Previews- $39, Week Nights - $46; Sat. Eve. & Sun. Mat.- $50; Sat. Mat. & Sun. Night - $43. Student Rush tickets available 15 minutes before curtain at $15 tickets, Military - $20 with active Military ID & Seniors $3 off admission. Call 858-481-1055 or visit to purchase tickets.

FACT SHEET

WHAT:NORTH COAST REPERTORY THEATRE presents

TRAVELS WITH MY AUNT

By Graham Greene

Adapted by Giles Havergal

Directed by David Ellenstein

CAST:James Saba,* David McBean,* Richard Baird,* and Benjamin Cole.

WHERE:North Coast Repertory Theatre

987 Lomas Santa Fe Drive, Ste. D

Solana Beach, CA 92075

SCHEDULE Previews: April 12, 2017

Opens: April 15, at 8 pm

Closes: May 7, 2017

Wed. @ 7pm, Thurs-Sat @ 8PM; Sat & Sun @ 2PM, Sun @ 7pm

Talkback with cast & director: Friday, April 21, 2017

PRICES: Previews$39.00

Week Nights$46.00

Sat. Matinees & Sunday Nights$43.00

Sat. Nights & Sunday Matinees$50.00

DISCOUNTS: Seniors, Students, Military $3.00 off admission

BOX OFFICE(858) 481-1055 or

APRIL
SUN / MON / TUE / WED / THU / FRI / SAT
12
Preview
8pm / 13
Preview
8pm / 14
Preview
8pm / 15
OPENING
8pm
16
2pm & 7pm / 17 / 18 / 19
7pm / 20
8pm / 21
8pm
Talkback / 22
2pm & 8pm
23
2pm & 7pm / 24 / 25 / 26
7pm / 27
8pm / 28
8pm / 29
2pm & 8pm
30
2pm & 7pm / MAY 1 / 2 / 3
7pm / 4
8pm / 5
8pm / 6
2pm & 8pm
7
2pm

BIOS:

GRAHAM GREENE (Playwright) was one of the most celebrated English novelists of his generation. His novels include The Man Within, Orient Express, Brighton Rock, The Power and The Glory, The Heart of the Matter, The End of the Affair, The Quiet American, Our Man in Havana, A Burnt-Out Case, The Comedians and Travels With My Aunt. He also wrote the travel books Journey Without Maps and The Lawless Roads, in addition to the screenplay for the film noir classic, The Third Man. Many of his books have been adapted into films, including a 1959 film adaption of Our Man in Havana starring Alec Guinness and two adaptations of The Quiet American, one in 1958 and again in 2002 with Michael Caine in an Oscar-nominated role. Born in 1904 and died in 1991, his life spanned almost the entire 20th century. He was awarded a Companion of Honor in 1966 and the very prestigious Order of Merit in 1986 for his contributions to our language's illustrious literary tradition.

GILES HAVERGAL (Adaptor) was Director of the Citizens' Theatre Glasgow with Philip Prowse and Robert David MacDonald from 1969 to 2003. He acted and directed with the Citizen's Company. His adaptions include Travels With My Aunt which started at Citizens' and later played in London, where it won an Olivier Award, in New York, David Copperfield for Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Chicago, Les Liasons Dangereuses and The House of Mirth for American Conservatory Theater San Francisco (of which he is an associate artist). He has played his one man adaption of Death in Venice in Glasgow, New York and San Francisco. His work in opera includes productions for Welsh National Opera, Scottish Opera, Minnesota Opera, Vancouver, Wexford and Buxton. In October 2010 he directed a new version of The Merry Widow for Opera North.

DAVID ELLLENSTEIN (Director) Born into a theatrical family, David has worked in theatres across the country. Before joining North Coast Rep in 2003 he served as Artistic Director for the Los Angeles Repertory Company and the Arizona Jewish Theatre Company (AJTC). A veteran of over 250 theatrical productions, directorial favorites include: North Coast Rep – The Illusion, Hedda Gabler, Way Downriver: William Faulkner’s ‘Old Man’, Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Great Nome Gold Rush (World Premiere), Freud’s Last Session, Side by Side By Sondheim, Words By Ira Gershwin, Faded Glory (World Premiere), Mandate Memories (World Premiere), Becoming Cuba (World Premiere), Time Stands Still, Words by: Ira Gershwin and the Great American Songbook (World Premiere), Two by Pinter: The Lover and The Dumb Waiter, HENRY IV Part 1, Heroes, My Name is Asher Lev, The Drawer Boy, Becky’s New Car, Ghosts, The Tempest, Talley’s Folly, Over the Tavern, Old Wicked Songs, The Dresser, Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris, Madagascar, A Shayna Maidel, The Honky Tonk Angels, Rashomon, A Moon for the Misbegotten; Tuesdays With Morrie; Collected Stories; Halpern and Johnson; Romeo and Juliet; Amy’s View; Einstein Comes Through (also co-author); The Chosen; A Life in the Theatre; Story Theatre and Charley’s Aunt. Other theatres: Coconut Grove Playhouse, Papermill Playhouse, Portland Stage. Renaissance Theatre, Actor’s Theatre of Phoenix, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Laguna Playhouse, Southwest Shakespeare Company, AJTC, Meadow Brook Theatre, Portland Rep and Gaslamp Quarter Theatre.

AARON RUMLEY* (Stage Manager) North Coast Repertory Theatre: The Cocktail Hour, Hedda Gabler, Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Great Nome Gold Rush, The Fox on the Fairway, Betrayal, Unnecessary Farce, Gunmetal Blues, Fallen Angels, Who Am I This Time?, Broken Glass, Two by Pinter: The Lover and The Dumb Waiter, THIS, The Lion in Winter, Heroes, Lend Me a Tenor, My Name is Asher Lev, The Drawer Boy, Becky’s New Car, Voice of the Prairie, Ghosts, Glorious!, Talley’s Folly, Over the Tavern, Rabbit Hole, The Dresser, Don’t Dress for Dinner, Madagascar, Mornings at Seven, String of Pearls, Dracula, Rashomon, Wit, A Moon for the Misbegotten, Leading Ladies, Collected Stories, Halpern & Johnson, Romeo and Juliet, The Bungler, The Chosen, A Life in the Theatre and The Rainmaker. North Carolina Theatre: Talley’s Folly, Picnic, The Miser and On Golden Pond. Aaron received a B.A. in Theatre from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, and is the production manager at the North Coast Repertory Theatre. Aaron is a member of Actors’ Equity Association.

JAMES SABA* (Actor 1) James is pleased to return to North Coast Rep where he was last seen in The Importance of Being Earnest & Travesties in 2002. Other theatre credits include The Coward Rep (Cygnet Theatre), His Girl Friday and Boy (La Jolla Playhouse), The Kite Runner, (San Jose Rep, Arizona Theatre Company, Actors Theatre of Louisville and Cleveland Playhouse), Behind the Eye (Cincinnati Playhouse), Centennial Casting (Virginia Stage Company), A Christmas Carol (Alabama Shakespeare Festival), Cymbeline and Travels With My Aunt (The Old Globe Theatre), Laughter on the 23rd Floor (Cleveland Playhouse/San Jose Repertory Theatre) and 20 seasons at Hope Summer Repertory Theatre. Television credits include “Smash”, “30 Rock”, “Law and Order: Criminal Intent” and “Conviction”. James is Executive Director of San Diego Junior Theatre. Thank you to all the eccentrics in my life who shook me out of my comfort zone and made me feel “oddly elated to be alive.”

DAVID MCBEAN* (Actor 2) was last seen at North Coast Rep in Now You See It. Previous North Coast Rep’s roles include: Unnecessary Farce (Critic's Circle Nominee), School for Lies, Glorious, Charley's Aunt, Shipwrecked, and Pageant. Other credits include: Fully Committed (Critic's Circle Award), Pageant, Little Shop of Horrors, Dirty Blonde, Christmas Carol, and It's a Wonderful Life at Cygnet Theater, and Ruthless! and Or at Moxie Theatre.

RICHARD BAIRD* (Actor 3) is thrilled to return to North Coast Rep where he has appeared in sixteen productions including Way Downriver; William Faulkner’s ‘Old Man”, Betrayal, The Dumb Waiter/Lover, Ghosts and many more. Richard is the Founding Artistic Director of New Fortune Theatre Company where he has directed and appeared in Henry the Fifth (co director/title role, Craig Noel San Diego Critics Circle awards for Outstanding Direction and Lead Performance), The Birthday Party (McCann) and Les Liaisons Dangereuses (co director/Valmont). Richard has appeared in regional theatres across the country including The Old Globe, San Diego Rep, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Portland Centre Stage, Shakespeare Santa Cruz, Arizona Theatre Company, Southwest Shakespeare Company (AriZoni Best Actor awards for Cyrano de Bergerac and Taming of the Shrew), Kingsmen Shakespeare and has directed for Intrepid Theatre and Diversionary Theatre. Richard was the Artistic Director of Poor Players Theatre Company. He is a proud member of Actors Equity. For Blossom, as always.

BENJAMIN COLE (Actor 4) is proud to be the Director of Theatre School Education and Outreach for North Coast Repertory Theatre. Ben has previously been seen at North Coast Rep in: Way Downriver; William Faulkner's 'Old Man', Betrayal, Faded Glory, Who Am I This Time? plus several readings and Professional Theatre for Families productions; Other recent local theatre includes: The Metromaniacs (Old Globe); Ether Dome, (La Jolla Playhouse); The Lion in Winter (Moonlight Stage Productions); The Foreigner (Lamb’s Players Theatre); A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Intrepid Shakespeare); Punk Rock, The Mystery Plays (ion theatre); Coming Attractions (Moxie Theatre); Holiday Spirits, Almost, Maine (Scripps Ranch Theatre). Other theatre nationally: Orlando Shakespeare Theater, Oklahoma Shakespearean Festival, Illinois Shakespeare Festival, Pigeon Creek Shakespeare Company, and Clinton Area Showboat Theatre. Education: MFA in Acting from WIU, BFA in Acting/Directing from CMU, Ireland study abroad from NYU.

DESIGN TEAM:

MARTY BURNETT (Resident Scenic Designer) Marty is in his 25th season as Resident Designer/Technical Director at North Coast Rep. He has designed the last 175 shows. Other venues include Laguna Playhouse, Portland Stage Company, Drury Lane (Chicago), Claridge Hotel (Atlantic City), Union Plaza, Sahara Hotel, Hacienda in Las Vegas, Coronado Playhouse, Scripps Ranch Theater, Harrah’s Lake Tahoe. Marty is a proud alumni of Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska.

MATTHEW NOVOTNY (Light Design) is pleased to be designing another show for North Coast Rep, where he has designed close to 40 shows over the past seven years. Matthew is currently the Lighting Designer in Residence for San Diego Musical Theatre as well as North Coast Rep, and his work can be seen at a wide variety of theatres across San Diego. Matthew holds a BA in Technical Theatre from San Diego State, and a Masters Degree in Lighting Design from Boston University. Matthew is married to his beautiful wife Amanda, with 3 gorgeous children: Ragan, Harper and Heston.

MELANIE CHEN (Sound Design) is thrilled to be working with North Coast Rep again! She is a freelance sound designer who has designed over 50 productions
in San Diego, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. Past North Coast Rep credits
include Marjorie Prime, Laughter on the 23rd Floor, The Cocktail Hour, Ain’t Misbehavin’, Hedda Gabler, Way Downriver; William Faulkner’s ‘Old Man’, Now You See It, Side by Side by Sondheim, Betrayal, Unnecessary Farce, Freud’s Last Session, Romance/ Romance, Faded Glory, Mandate Memories, and Becoming Cuba. Melanie holds an M.F.A. in Sound Design for Theatre & Dance from UC San Diego. For more info, visit her website at

ELISA BENZONI (Costume Design) is thrilled to be working with North Coast Rep again. Previous work with North Coast Repertory Theatre include: The Illusion, Marjorie Prime, Laughter on the 23rd Floor, The Cocktail Hour, Hedda Gabler, Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Great Nome Gold Rush, Chapatti, The Fox on the Fairway for which she was nominated for a Craig Noel Award; Other select credits: Sex with Strangers (Geffen Playhouse), Constellations (Old Globe) Two Gentlemen of Verona, Pericles, Prince of Tyre, Reckless, Much Ado About Nothing, Measure for Measure (Old Globe/USD); The Who and The What, Our Town, Tall Girls, Brahaman/I, Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir (La Jolla Playhouse); God of Carnage, Emilie, Sylvia, Much Ado About Nothing (New Village Arts), Mystery of Love and Sex (Diversionary Theatre), Snakeskin, Lifeblood Harmony, Chagall, A Man Found Wanting (Malashock Dance); The Storm, The Threepenny Opera, A Man, His Wife, and His Hat (UCSD). Assistant costume credits: Dialogues des Carmelites (Teatro Petruzzelli, Bari), Paradise Found (Menier Chocolate Factory, London), Milk Like Sugar (La Jolla Playhouse), As You Like It, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (The Old Globe). Elisa holds a costume design MFA from UCSD.

ANDREA GUTIERREZ (Prop Design) has been working at North Coast Rep since 2012, beginning as the Stage Manager and Prop Master for our theatre school. She worked as backstage crew for the 32nd and the beginning of the 33rd Season, before taking over as Supervising House Manager and Volunteer Coordinator. Her previous prop credits include Marjorie Prime, Laughter on the 23rd Floor, The Cocktail Hour, Ain’t Misbehavin’, Hedda Gabler, Way Downriver; William Faulkner’s ‘Old Man’, Now You See It, Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Great Nome Gold Rush, Chapatti, and The Fox on the Fairway, as well as two Seasons as properties assistant at Starlight Theatre. She received her B.A. in Theatrical Design and Production from UCLA’s School of Theatre, Film & Television, and a M.A. from Johns Hopkins University.

BACKGROUND:

Coming next is The Spitfire Grill, an emotional, all-American musical, is certain to win hearts with its compelling story and engaging melodies (May 31-June 25,2017). Season 35 concludes with a second San Diego premiere, a gut-busting, uproarious backstage farce, At This Evening’s Performance (July 12-Aug. 6, 2017).

About the North Coast Repertory Theatre

North Coast Repertory Theatre is a professional Equity theatre founded in 1982, currently celebrating its 35th season, North Coast Rep has received critical acclaim from media and audiences alike, and has evolved into one of the area’s leading performing arts organizations. North Coast Rep prides itself on employing the majority of its actors from Actors’ Equity Association for its high quality, award-winning productions, and staging works by established and emerging playwrights. Throughout its history, North Coast Rep has created a platform where artist and audience thrive through the intimacy of live theatre, recognizing the power of theatre to challenge complacency, revitalize the imagination, nurture the unexpected and embrace the variety and diversity in our lives.

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